What does he have against the Teaneck Public Library?
The Suburbanite's Howard Prosnitz takes a decidedly partial tone in this week's cover story on the library budget. Judging from past writings, library management probably isn't the intended target of Prosnitz's opening dig, but the reporter still ends up firing a shot in that direction. "Despite its widely publicized policy of fiscal restraint," he writes, "the council has apparently rubber stamped the library's proposed budget." But has Prosnitz really laid bare the hypocrisy of the Council, or has he instead suggested that the library has proposed a fiscally irresponsible budget? Later in the article, when Prosnitz actually lays out the facts instead of his own opinions about the goings on, it becomes apparent that the Council approved a 3.6% increase in the library's budget, within the guideline that Mayor Katz is quoted as recommending, i.e. 0 to 4% year on year increases.
True, the Council did not in the end compel the library director to remove some of the budget lines that Council members had challenged such as $3,610 for "seminars and meetings," but the increase that was approved was small in absolute dollars and fell within the suggested range. So is Prosnitz saying that it is not really that the Council failed to live up to its goal of fiscal restraint, but rather that the management of the library has gotten away with an unjustifiably lavish set of expenditures? This is how it reads.
I am all in favor of cutting expenditures to the bone. In the short to medium term, this is one of the few realistic ways local officials can slow the rate of property tax increases. Still, even the most frugal among us would have a tough time arguing that the library's limited budget increase presents a real problem.
posted by Teaneck Blog @ 11:00 AM
5 Comments:
There always seems to be an "edge" to Proznitz' articles, depending on who was the last person he spoke to or who fed him the information. He's not the best at doing the research needed or writing a very balanced article, but he's better than some of the previous writers we have seen.
Howard used to work in a library and believes there is always library waste. One of the conferences has already taken place and the director promised to take the new council policy against conferences into account when planning for next year.
On its own,the library's budget request may not amount to much. However, either you solve the budget situation through many smaller cuts that are largely invisible to the public or through fewer, large cuts that are very visible. Which do you prefer?
Teaneck's library is open weekdays 9-9. Many towns in Bergen open at 10. How much money would be saved by implementing reduced hours? How many people in town can only use the library between 9-10? Alternatively, open at 11 two mornings a week. The goal has to be finding many ideas like this that together add up to real savings with minimal impact to residents.
How about the fact the council is not cutting back on this year's new police cars when six of the ones that were supposed to be replaced last year wound up serving an extra year? Why not make that kind of big cut? Only Gussen stood up for that.
How about the fact the council is not cutting back on this year's new police cars ...
The logic of this proposed cut totally escapes me. The new cars being ordered are not replacing the cars that were not delivered on time last year. Skipping the purchase this year would just require the continued use of cars that are due to be retired.
If any purchasing adjustment were to be made it should be when last years new cars are ready to be replaced. Having gone into usage later they would not need to be replaced as early.
I believe it was also six to one against Gussen when the council chose not to even consider cutting any emergency personel positions. While not particularly in favor of staff cuts, I do think that may have been a more reasoned position than the one relating to the police cars.
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